Misstep by Deborah Dee Harper – Book Review, Excerpt, Preview

Jean eased down into a perfect execution of the splits. I was amazed. I don’t think I have ever been that flexible and my dear friend is a septuagenarian. She still lives by herself, cares for her granddaughter, helps with Sunday School, and hosts a Bible study for women. She is an amazing lady!

Something in our society has us afraid of getting old – ashamed of our age. Women dye their hair, people go through horrible procedures or injections to hide their wrinkles. Don’t even think of asking someone his or her age! How terrible would it be for you to find out they are “old”!

It is especially a shame that Christians feel this way because there are a number of scriptures that tell us that old age is a blessing and grey hair is a “crown of splendor”. The wisdom of those who have experienced life longer than we have is a gift to us as well. There is so much we can gain from these dear ones blessed by the Lord.

Is there a senior citizen in your life that you can spend more quality time with?

Synopsis:

Winnie and Sadie are still fighting, and I'm still living in the strangest town on earth.

It’s December in Road’s End, Virginia, a tiny town long forgotten by anyone but its residents, where Colonel Hugh Foster and his wife, Melanie, have chosen to live—for better or worse. The jury’s still out on that one!

Road’s End is comprised entirely of senior citizens whose kids have grown and left for greener pastures. Hugh, Melanie, and Bristol (one of the few sane people in town) are faced with a crumbling church in desperate need of repair and renovation, a dwindling congregation of opinionated, ornery senior citizens, and a camel—yes, a camel. And if that's not enough, the trio and the rest of the Road's End residents, are soon mired in danger and intrigue when a group of gun-toting drug dealers arrive in town, bent on killing the church handyman, and conspiring to ruin the doggonedest record-breaking blizzard the town has ever seen.

Poor drug dealers.

I would like to thank Celebrate Lit for giving me this copy of the book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.

The senior citizens in Road’s End were some of the funniest, most determined people. Each one was so perfect in their own quirky way. It is hard to pick a favorite, but Frank was certainly up there near the top of my list.

My husband got to hear numerous excerpts from this book. Mostly because I kept laughing really hard and couldn’t resist sharing what I had been reading. This is certainly a story that kept me turning the pages, anxious to see what was coming next. And then stopping to laugh and laugh.

I loved the way that Hugh and Melanie cared so much for each of them, despite having just known them for such a short period of time. The hospitality they showed (as the newcomers!) by bringing the residents of the town to the inn so they would be together and safe for the duration of the blizzard was love in action, especially as shown to Emma, who refused to leave her house.

The story was a blend of humor, action, suspense and changed lives. There is a strong Christian message that for the majority of the book was woven well into the story. There are a few places where a long message was preached and shared in the book which, while true and inspiring, did detract from the story. I enjoyed much more the conversations that the characters had discussing their faith.

Excerpt

“Well, for starters, what they’re doing here, what they plan to do with Bristol if they get hold of him, if they’re going to hurt any of the rest of us, what their M.O. is…”

“M.O.?” “Modus operandi,” Hazel said. “Bad guys have M.O.s all the time. It’s how they operate, the way they do things. You know, like how they rob a bank.”

“Are these guys robbing a bank? Because if they are, they’re out of luck. We don’t have one.”

“Well, no, I don’t suppose they are—robbing a bank, that is—but still, we need to know what their plan of action is. Who sent them? Who’s their wheel man?”

Sadie seemed exasperated. “Hazel, they don’t have a wheel man.”

“Yes, they do. It’s Mr. Jackson. He’s the guy behind the wheel. He drove them here. Don’t you ever watch The Rockford Files or Magnum, P.I. or James Bond movies? If you did, you’d know these things, Sadie.”

“And just how often do I need to know these things, Hazel? Once in a blue moon maybe?”

“Well, you need to know it now, don’t you?”

“Their motors operetti? I don’t think so.”

“Modus … that’s modus… operandi, Sadie. Are you making fun of me?”

“No, Hazel, I’m not making fun of you. I’m just explaining that I don’t need to know how these guys operate. They have guns. That’s how they operate. Someone gets in their way, they shoot ’em. Simple.”

“Well, it’s not so simple if you’re the one in their way, now is it?”

“No, it’s not, so that’s why we’re going to stay out of their way.”

Preview of Misstep

About Deborah Dee Harper

Deborah Dee Harper writes from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and specializes in humorous, inspirational Christian books for both children and adults. Her novel, Misstep, is the first book in her Road’s End series for adults (although children are welcome to read them as well). She’s also written a children’s adventure series, Laramie on the Lam, that is inspirational, humorous, and full of fun. (Many of Laramie’s fans are adults!)

Phyllis, I can’t thank you enough for your wonderful review of Misstep! Often I’m not able to contact the reviewers, so I was particularly happy to see that I could let you know how special you made me feel. I hope to continue writing about the feisty folks in Road’s End until I’m their age! 🙂